Hello colleagues, Given the recent sobering events in Afghanistan, many communities across the country will be receiving Afghan refugees. Indeed, many communities have welcomed Afghans over the past couple of decades. Do you anticipate that your community will resettle new groups of Afghans? If so, how are you preparing for this eventuality? What community partners are you collaborating with as you prepare for these new friends?
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP
Comments
Susan,
Thank you for the question about resources for English teachers of Afghan students. It helped spark a search that I found helpful in setting my thoughts toward "here are some things that can help." It is likely there may be some coming to Florida or are already here.
The web-resource guru, Larry Ferlazzo, just came out with a post with 12 tips for teachers with Afghani students. His complete article can be found at https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-twelve-ways-to-support-afghan-refugee-students/2021/08. He shared a free app that teaches English to Pashto speakers: http://www.pashtoenglishlessons.org/.
The Center for Global Education and the Asia Society have primary resources on Afghanistan for educators (https://asiasociety.org/education/teach-afghanistan-using-primary-sources). One of their resources that I found interesting is about coins in Afghanistan and the story behind the coins. They also have a site called "Homeland Afghanistan" with many articles on the history, geography and identity of the country and its people (http://afghanistan.asiasociety.org/?_ga=2.91058457.281010064.1630336371-1374506904.1630336371).
The USAHello site provides many resources for ELL teachers that provides an overview of key highlights of the country to develop culturally responsive teaching strategies (https://usahello.org/how-to-help/for-teachers/cultural-background-resources/afghan-students/#gref). Here is an excerpt from their page that I found informative: "The Afghan population in the United States shares a common nationality and Islamic religion, but it is diverse in terms of political orientation, religious affiliation, ethnicity, social class, and attitude toward modernization. The importance of this diversity cannot be overstated. In terms of ethnicity alone, there are 19 different groups in Afghanistan, and, while the majority of Afghans in the United States are Pashtun and Tajik, there is an Uzbek minority in New York, as well as some Afghan Jews and Hindus; and Hazaras are scattered around the country."
Phil Anderson, FDOE Adult ESOL Program Specialist
Phil, Thank you so much for linking us to these useful resources. Larry Ferlazzo is one of my all time favorite follows. He always has wonderful resources to share for instructors of English learners, most of which can be adapted to working with adults.
Cheers, Susan